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50 2014 Central Mass By The Numbers • Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com TOURISM & TRANSPORTATION T here's a lot of good that can come with commuting by public transit. Instead of getting riled up fight- ing traffic, you can pull out a novel or listen to a podcast. Or, if you insist on getting riled up, you can grab your laptop and use your frustrations to attack that PowerPoint presentation you'd been meaning to get to. For most of us, though, there are too many barriers to taking the train or bus to work. The first stop at our des- tination isn't early enough in the morning, or we're wor- ried about possible delays, or there's no easy way to get from the station to the office. Central Massachusetts transit agencies are taking big steps to address those issues and make it simpler for more people to get off the highways and into less pollut- ing, less road-clogging means of transportation. At the Worcester Regional Transit Authority, Administrator Stephen O'Neil said the opening of a new system hub near Union Station, next door to the MBTA commuter rail stop, last year, has made the bus an option for more people, leading to a 4 or 5 percent increase in ridership. Meanwhile, delays are down, making service more reliable. "I think the more we make it easier for our customers to use the service, the more they rely on it," he said. O'Neil said young people, who are more likely to choose to live in urban areas and less interested in own- ing cars, are a key market. With Worcester trying to attract more people to live downtown, he said, the bus can bring them to jobs, shopping and social destinations. At the same time, he said, the WRTA is also increas- ingly focused on "last mile" service, taking commuters from the trains to their office doorsteps. That's espe- cially relevant after an upgrade to the Worcester- Framingham rail line that adds several new trips to and from Boston every day. A shuttle service between Westborough's train station and the town's office parks has proved popular enough that it's becoming a model for other towns. Meanwhile, in Worcester, O'Neil said many professionals arriving from east of the city by rail are using the bus to get to their workplaces, particularly UMass Medical School. More MBTA service is also encouraging new com- muting patterns in the northern part of the region. Mohammed Khan, O'Neil's counterpart at the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, said the new- est addition to local service is an arrival of a westbound train at Littleton at 8:40 a.m. "That is going to be an important thing because we never had a morning train coming from Boston," he said. "This will allow, for the first time, a true reverse commute." Like the WRTA in Westborough, MART is working to provide shuttle service from the train station to major employers. Mohammed said employees at IBM in Littleton, Cisco Systems in Boxborough and Bristol- Myers Squibb in Devens are all likely to take advantage of the shuttle. MART may also add a van service to take commuters from the Littleton station all the way to Leominster and Fitchburg, although that will eventually be unnecessary because further improvements on the MBTA's Fitchburg line should extend morning service all the way to that city by next fall. Mohammed said the traditional west-east commute is also benefitting from the rail improvements. The long- awaited completion of the Fitchburg line project is expected to reduce the commute from Fitchburg to Boston from 90 minutes to around 70. Parking lots along the line are increasingly filling up as more commuters take the train, Mohammed said, and the MART buses are bringing people from as far west as Gardner to catch the train in Fitchburg. Looking a bit further into the future, Mohammed said a new MBTA station in Westminster should open in 2016, making the commute from the west even easier. He said the simpler access to jobs east of Fitchburg should make the area more attractive. "This region is economically growing," he said. The population will grow." n By Livia Gershon Special to the Worcester Business Journal Public transit improvements a boost to region's employers Sources: STR, U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Worcester Regional Transit Authority, AAA Southern New England Revenue from January through August for hotels in Worcester County, up from $80.9 million over the same span in 2013. $83.2M Percentage of working- age Worcester residents who use public transit, ninth highest among Central Massachusetts communities. 3.6% QUICK HITS Franklin ..................................................................8.2% natick ...................................................................8.1% Hopkinton .............................................................7.1% Shirley ...................................................................7.1% Ayer .......................................................................5.6% Acton ....................................................................5.5% Ashland .................................................................4.5% Framingham ..........................................................3.8% Worcester ................................................................3.6% Medway .................................................................3.2% Wayland .................................................................3.1% Southborough .......................................................3.0% Sudbury .................................................................2.9% Fitchburg ...............................................................2.8% Westborough .........................................................2.8% Bellingham ............................................................2.7% Grafton ..................................................................2.6% Holliston ...............................................................2.3% Boylston ................................................................2.2% Millis .....................................................................2.2% Littleton ................................................................2.1% Mendon .................................................................2.1% Milford ..................................................................2.0% Petersham .............................................................2.0% Sutton ...................................................................2.0% Hopedale ...............................................................1.9% Bolton ...................................................................1.8% Sherborn ................................................................1.8% Boxborough ...........................................................1.7% Groton ...................................................................1.7% Millbury .................................................................1.7% northborough ........................................................1.7% Harvard .................................................................1.6% east Brookfield .....................................................1.5% Stow ......................................................................1.5% Leominster ..............................................................1.4% Blackstone ............................................................1.3% Marlborough ...........................................................1.3% Shrewsbury ...........................................................1.3% Berlin ....................................................................1.1% Paxton ...................................................................1.1% Lunenburg ...............................................................1.0% Sterling .................................................................1.0% templeton .............................................................1.0% Ashburnham ..........................................................0.9% Lancaster ..............................................................0.9% Princeton ..............................................................0.9% Spencer .................................................................0.9% Pepperell ...............................................................0.8% Athol .....................................................................0.7% Holden ..................................................................0.7% dudley ...................................................................0.6% Leicester ...............................................................0.6% oakham .................................................................0.6% oxford ...................................................................0.6% Rutland .................................................................0.6% townsend ..............................................................0.6% Auburn ..................................................................0.5% clinton ..................................................................0.5% douglas .................................................................0.5% Hubbardston .........................................................0.5% Southbridge ..........................................................0.5% Uxbridge ................................................................0.5% West Boylston .......................................................0.5% charlton ................................................................0.4% Gardner ...................................................................0.4% Phillipston .............................................................0.4% Hudson ..................................................................0.3% Millville .................................................................0.3% Ashby ....................................................................0.2% Maynard ................................................................0.2% Sturbridge ..............................................................0.2% Winchendon ...........................................................0.2% Brookfield ..............................................................0.1% Barre ......................................................................0.0% Hardwick ...............................................................0.0% new Braintree .......................................................0.0% northbridge ...........................................................0.0% north Brookfield ...................................................0.0% Royalston ..............................................................0.0% Upton ....................................................................0.0% Warren ..................................................................0.0% Webster .................................................................0.0% West Brookfield .....................................................0.0% Westminster ..........................................................0.0% Highest use of public transit From 2008 to 2012, Franklin and Natick, both of which host commuter rail stations, had the highest percentage of their working-age populations using public transportation in Central Massachusetts. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2008-2012 American Community Survey, 5-year estimates Note: Workers are age 16 and older. Average number of weekday boardings at the Fitchburg commuter rail station in April 2013, a jump of 105 from the previous November. 516 Number of riders on Worcester Regional Transit Authority buses in September 2014, the busiest September for the WRTA out of the last four. 385,727 Average price in May for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in Southern New England, the highest of this year before prices began to fall. $3.68